I can already hear people complaining that FOX News isn’t actually conservative. But can you imagine what our current media landscape would be like without it? Or what things would be like if FOX News was taken over by people who think CNN is centrist?
The New York Times reports:
The Secret Battle for the Future of the Murdoch EmpireRupert Murdoch is locked in a secret legal battle against three of his children over the future of the family’s media empire, as he moves to preserve it as a conservative political force after his death, according to a sealed court document obtained by The New York Times.Mr. Murdoch, 93, set the drama in motion late last year, when he made a surprise move to change the terms of the Murdochs’ irrevocable family trust to ensure that his eldest son and chosen successor, Lachlan, would remain in charge of his vast collection of television networks and newspapers.The trust currently hands control of the family business to the four oldest children when Mr. Murdoch dies. But he is arguing in court that only by empowering Lachlan to run the company without interference from his more politically moderate siblings can he preserve its conservative editorial bent, and thus protect its commercial value for all his heirs.Those three siblings — James, Elisabeth and Prudence — were caught completely off-guard by their father’s effort to rewrite what was supposed to be an inviolable trust and have united to stop him. Lachlan has joined on Mr. Murdoch’s side. Remarkably, the ensuing battle has been playing out entirely out of public view.Last month, the Nevada probate commissioner found that Mr. Murdoch could amend the trust if he is able to show he is acting in good faith and for the sole benefit of his heirs, according to a copy of his 48-page decision.A trial to determine whether Mr. Murdoch is in fact acting in good faith is expected to start in September. Hanging in the balance will be the future of one of the most politically influential media companies in the English-speaking world.
More from Fortune:
Rupert Murdoch is going to court to push his 3 more liberal kids out of his Fox and News Corp media empiresRupert Murdoch is in a secretive legal battle with three of his children to push them out of his News Corp and Fox media empires and hand control to his conservative son Lachlan, it has been reported.Murdoch went to court last year in a bid to increase Lachlan’s voting power at the expense of his three other children, James, Elisabeth, and Prudence, who have grown uncomfortable with the media empire’s rightward shift, The New York Times reported.The billionaire, alongside Lachlan, is arguing a “lack of consensus” will disrupt Fox’s and News Corp’s strategic direction, according to court documents reviewed by the publication.Murdoch’s three other children, who are said to have been blindsided by the move, have reportedly hired their own legal team to contest their father’s plans.Under a Nevada probate, where the battle is playing out, Lachlan will gain more control of the empire if he and his father can indeed prove the dramatic shift to voting rights is in the best interests of his organization.
Remember John O’Sullivan’s first law: “All organizations that are not explicitly right-wing will over time become left-wing.”
Featured image via YouTube.
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